Clinton said Saturday she will leave Wisconsin a day earlier than previously planned.

KENOSHA, Wisconsin (CNN) - Hillary Clinton is preparing to take her nomination fight all the way through June and to the Democratic convention in Denver, she told reporters in Wisconsin Saturday.

"I campaigned with my husband until he wrapped up this nomination in June [of 1992]," she said at a press conference here. "I thought it was fun. I had a good time. I am prepared to go the distance."

Her comments echoed those of campaign adviser Harold Ickes, who said on a conference call earlier in the day that neither candidate will earn the 2,025 pledged delegates needed to win the nomination, and that the 796 party insiders known as superdegates should be able to discern on their own which candidate can best "carry the ticket" in November.

Clinton argued that the superdelegates are "supposed to exercise independent judgement" and "make their decisions based on anything they choose to base it on."

"That is their role," she said.

This year's protracted nomination fight, Clinton said, is good for party excitement and is hardly out of the ordinary in American political history.

"I know some of you have only covered the '04 and 2000 campaign, which were really kind of anomalies," she said. "The nominees were determined early. But that's not the usual pattern. My husband didn't wrap up the nomination in '92 until June. And usually it takes a while to sort all this out."

The New York senator said she will urge her delegates at the convention to seat the delegations from Michigan and Florida, who voted for Sen. Clinton but had been previously stripped of their convention votes by the Democratic National Committee for holding early primaries.

"If there are contested delegations, the convention votes on them. Those are the rules," she said.

soundoff(207 Responses)

gloglo

I am a bit perplexed at the media's reaction about not having access to Chelsea, I would think that the media would be much more upset at Obama for not granting full access to himself and not debating, after all he is the one that is running for president, not Chelsea

February 17, 2008 12:37 am at 12:37 am |

ann

Go Hillary! Of course you're going to go the distance...and you're going to win the nomination. We're counting on you and on the super delegates to realize you represent democratic interests and are the one who can win in November. Thanks for everything you do.

February 17, 2008 12:37 am at 12:37 am |

gloglo

How come the media hasn't looked into or commented on Larry Sinclair, if it was Hillary that had this said about her you guys would be all over her, Why hasn't anyone just asked Obama if this is true?

February 17, 2008 12:40 am at 12:40 am |

Murry

It's hypocritical for Clinton to say that she is a champion of voters rights in the case of Michigan and Florida and at the same time say it's okay for superdelegates to overrule the peoples choice. So which is it?

February 17, 2008 12:43 am at 12:43 am |

Amazed

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a Bloomberg interviewer Friday that voter preferences and primary results should play a part in how superdelegates made their decision.

Hillary Clinton argued that the superdelegates are "supposed to exercise independent judgment" and "make their decisions based on anything they choose to base it on."

One of them is not telling the truth.
If Nancy Pelosi is running, I will vote for her.

February 17, 2008 12:45 am at 12:45 am |

Mia

Does anyone remember when Democrats lost the House and Senate because Clinton was concerned more about his legacy than what was good for the Democratic Party? Looks like it will happen again. When the Clintons have to decide between what is in the best interest for them and what is the best interest for the country they will always pick A. (C'mon, you can't tell me he had the nation's interests in mind when he was fooling around on his wife)?

February 17, 2008 12:47 am at 12:47 am |

Peter Kavanagh

I guess with her leaving early it means Hillary is going to "write off " Wisconsion just as she has written off most of America . That's just what we (dems) need is another leader who wants to play "red state , blue state . Read the writting on the wall Hillary ... its over .

February 17, 2008 12:47 am at 12:47 am |

wis29

Hillary is the best candidate still standing. Obama would be so bad for our country...so many promises he will not live up to...just as he pledged to use public funding IF he gets the dem. nomination, now all of a sudden it is 'presumptious' of him to make a commitment now, millions of dollars of donations later, but it wasn't presumptious a year ago. He is an agent for change, an AGENT OF CHANGE HIS MIND...he promises he can give you Hope, then crush it with his bare hands.
YES WE CAN...Run America into the ground by choosing Obama.
Hillary, despite all the hate she gets from many people, is resilient; a very important characteristic I look at in a leader. She's no rock star, and she's no war hero, but she has gone through personal pain and endured bad publicity and scandals, yet she is still able to have the strength to run for President and fight the good fight for universal health care, even after being defeated 15 years ago. That's dedication you CAN and SHOULD believe in. Not just hope, but an unwavering WILL to serve the people...That's Hillary.

February 17, 2008 12:47 am at 12:47 am |

MT

No thanks...we hope you don't.

Good-bye, Hillary(& Bill) – don't let the door hit you.........

February 17, 2008 12:49 am at 12:49 am |

Vic of New York

What a sleeze bag – this Clinton.

Not enough that she stole $200,000 in vluables from the whitehouse that she had gto return.

Not enough that she stole the New York Senatoral race by using her husbands political influence in true CARPETBAGGER form.

Not enough that she stole criminal justice by having her hubby pardon her old lawyer pals before leaving the whitehouse.

Now she wants to steal an election by "pimping" her daughter to curry favor among the super delagates and trying to change the DNC primary rules in Florida and Michigan.

YOU CLINTONS HAVE NO MORALS...!

February 17, 2008 12:50 am at 12:50 am |

Kevin L. Howard

As far as I'm concerned, Senator Clinton can't go far enough. Perhaps she could join President Bush on his tour of Africa, and discuss her support for his war in Iraq.

February 17, 2008 12:58 am at 12:58 am |

Robin

You will have alot of people either not voting or voting Republican if Hillary is the nominee.

February 17, 2008 12:58 am at 12:58 am |

Phoenix Fans of Hillary

Thank you, Hillary Clinton, for being dedicated to the American people and its land. I heard your speech today on CNN, and you covered so many important issues. Your speech had far more meat in it than the Bonehead Obama "Yes we can!"....repetitive crap. All the way to the White House, Mrs. Clinton...Phoenix is behind you!!!!!

February 17, 2008 01:03 am at 1:03 am |

observer#1

Hang in there Hillary. I will contiue to contribute to your campaign as long as you are in there. Florida and Michigan should be counted, you can't leave several million Americans voice unheard. The Republicans caused this not the Democratic party, count them!

February 17, 2008 01:07 am at 1:07 am |

dieter

So now Hillary Clinton's campaign is saying that the the rest of the elections are meaningless because the Superdelegates will determine the outcome? Then why is she still campaigning in Texas and Ohio?

February 17, 2008 01:10 am at 1:10 am |

John Smith

Just get lost, and the soul of the Dem party and this nation will be saved!!

February 17, 2008 01:11 am at 1:11 am |

JF

On a side note...I am so sick and tired of Wolf Blitzer and his inability to keep things 50/50. It is so very obvious that he LOVES Obama and as a television viewer looking for fair reporting, I resent it. Give me the facts and stop bending the stories to create some big "America loves Obama" vibe. Get real. American's love Clinton too. Period. I think that most of CNN would love to see Clinton fail and it's starting to become very obvious. When this happens it cuts my desire to even watch your network...I might as well start watching Fox news and if you think that was a slap at your network, YOU ARE 100% CORRECT.

February 17, 2008 01:20 am at 1:20 am |

Tom Wittmann

Should Obama obtain a clear majority of pledged delegates and then
dispoiled by the super\delegated, would he consider RUN AS AN INDEPENDENT ??

TOM

February 17, 2008 01:21 am at 1:21 am |

catherine

And we're prepared to go the distance for you too Hillary!

We don't need rhetoric. We need RESULTS!

GO HILLARY '08!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

February 17, 2008 01:22 am at 1:22 am |

Nick In L.V.

She is the only Democrat that will have my vote in the general election. Obama is a joke to me and has not inspired or earned my support. If I'm forced to I'll vote for McCain. Experience counts! Clinton will make an excellent President.

February 17, 2008 01:26 am at 1:26 am |

ilforobama

"The New York senator said she will urge her delegates at the convention to seat the delegations from Michigan and Florida, who voted for Sen. Clinton but had been previously stripped of their convention votes by the Democratic National Committee for holding early primaries."

Ever tried loosing gracefully? I like how she thinks its just ok to bend the rules if it means that she gets power as a result. Stop BSing your way to the people of Florida and Michigan... you don't care about their voting rights you care about their delegates. Pfft, and she knocks Obama for making "fake speeches"...

February 17, 2008 01:26 am at 1:26 am |

JerryZ

I was once a Hillary backer. To see her go negative and change the rules mid-stream is wrong. Both campaigns agreed to not campaign in both states and the votes wouldn't count towards delegates. Now she's behind and wants to change them? nd to say the states that voted for Obama are irrelevant? So she's saying the democrats, independents and even the republican voters that went to Obama are irrelevant too? How arrogant she is. Now were seeing the ugly side everyone says she has. She cares about Florida and Michigan? Yea right because she needs the votes and the delegates. She doesn't care about the voters, just herself.

What a ugly, deceitful person. That's who we want for president?

February 17, 2008 01:27 am at 1:27 am |

shelly

I am very happy to hear that Hillary is going to go the distance and not be subject to pressure from the media and her opponent. This entire process is the furthest from Democratic that it can be. Less than 5% of the population of the Caucus states voted and they are deciding for the entire state. Obama is asking for the people to vote, and not the superdelegates, fine. But you can't have it both ways. Super delegates vote for who their state voted for and we seat Michigan and Florida. It was Obama's choice to take his name off the ballot in Michigan. I would categorize that as a mistake from someone with no political expereince. You can't change the rules in mid-stream to suit your need. Bottom line, superdelegates vote for who they feel has the best credentials to lead this country and we leave Michigan and Florida out, or we don't and their delegates count. In addition, the popular vote has no bearing on this process so why are we talking about it again. We can see how far it got Al Gore. FOR HILLARY IN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!!!!

February 17, 2008 01:28 am at 1:28 am |

Obamafan?

As a former Obama supporter, I start to concern about the recent progresses with Obama's campaign which is playing race card. This is a very dangerous business since all it causes is hatred and division among democrats. We may lose again to republican this year.

February 17, 2008 01:30 am at 1:30 am |

Gary

GO HILLARY! I know that you will make it! We never wavered our support to you since we believe that you will fight for our causes and we will have our voice heard in the White House!